Humanitarian crisis: Displaced in Diyala
DIYALA, Iraq (UWIRE) – “The militias are not allowing us to return to our homes,” said Karima Abas Kuydayer. She is one of an estimated 4.2 million Iraqis displaced around the world. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, this figure includes 2.4 million persons displaced inside Iraq. The center tracks conflict-induced internal displacement worldwide.
During the last 24 months, sectarian and generalized violence have replaced military operations as the primary causes of recent population displacement within postwar Iraq.
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Showing posts with label refugees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label refugees. Show all posts
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
What It's Like To Be An Iraqi Refugee From Iraqi Refugees' Perspectives
snip
“I do my best to get through each day and keep what is left of my family together,” says “H” of his current situation as a refugee in Amman, Jordan, “my boys are my life, my love.” H and his two sons live in an apartment without refrigerator, or cooker. His wife died 4 years ago from blood poisoning. He now does everything for his two sons, including protecting them by not telling his story. He is too scared. Scared of his fellow Iraqi refugees, scared of the Kurds who he says now run the Iraqi Embassy in Jordan, scared of the UNHCR because they ask him questions he will not answer, scared of the Iraqi government, scared because he converted to Christianity, scared of the Americans, scared of his and his sons.
“H” wants to live in peace, no more killing, no more death, no more army.
What “H” did tell me is that Saddam Hussein is his father, the father of Iraq, the number 1 President for all Arabs. “He was the one who kept Iraq together, he was fair, everyone was equal, Shia, Sunni, Muslim, Christian, Kurd it didn’t matter as long as you swore fidelity to Saddam, he would protect you and your family. Now look at the government, they are run by Shia and Kurds and they don’t stop the killing, they want the killing,” was all H would tell me.
He also said he came to Jordan in 2003 before the Iraq War started.
read more here: http://hiddeninplainsightexhibition.blogspot.com/2008/07/trust-is-issue.html
“I do my best to get through each day and keep what is left of my family together,” says “H” of his current situation as a refugee in Amman, Jordan, “my boys are my life, my love.” H and his two sons live in an apartment without refrigerator, or cooker. His wife died 4 years ago from blood poisoning. He now does everything for his two sons, including protecting them by not telling his story. He is too scared. Scared of his fellow Iraqi refugees, scared of the Kurds who he says now run the Iraqi Embassy in Jordan, scared of the UNHCR because they ask him questions he will not answer, scared of the Iraqi government, scared because he converted to Christianity, scared of the Americans, scared of his and his sons.
“H” wants to live in peace, no more killing, no more death, no more army.
What “H” did tell me is that Saddam Hussein is his father, the father of Iraq, the number 1 President for all Arabs. “He was the one who kept Iraq together, he was fair, everyone was equal, Shia, Sunni, Muslim, Christian, Kurd it didn’t matter as long as you swore fidelity to Saddam, he would protect you and your family. Now look at the government, they are run by Shia and Kurds and they don’t stop the killing, they want the killing,” was all H would tell me.
He also said he came to Jordan in 2003 before the Iraq War started.
read more here: http://hiddeninplainsightexhibition.blogspot.com/2008/07/trust-is-issue.html
Saturday, July 26, 2008
The Plight Of Iraq's Refugees
Christopher Hayes
Thu Jul 24, 2:56 PM ET
The Nation -- Conservatives had a tendency to attribute the all of the reduction of violence in Iraq to the increase in US troops. But one of the most overlooked stories of Iraq is the massive outflow of refugees, 4 million by the latest estimates. Basically Iraq has gone through its own Big Sort, whereby Sunni and Shia simply don't live near each other, hence a diminishing amount of sectarian violence. Bobby Allyn attended a hearing on Iraq's refugees and sent this missive:
The Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs held a hearing on the Iraq Refugee Crisis yesterday. Jonathan Finer, Washington Post correspondent, testified with former Washington Post interpreter Nasser Nouri about the plight of over two million Iraqi refugees who are struggling for permanent resettlement.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, over 4.7 million Iraqis have been displaced since the 2003 US invasion, with more than two million living in Syria and Jordan. The US has committed to accept 12,000 refugees by September. So far the US has only accepted 6,463, allowing three months for another 5,537. "The question isn't will the US meet the 12,000 mark; it's why only 12,000?" said Finer. "We took in several hundred thousand Southeast Asians after the Vietnam war, more than a hundred thousand Bosnians in the mid '90s, 12,000 doesn't seem like a very ambitious target."
Nasser Nouri told the harrowing story of how Al Qeada tried to capture his youngest daughter after word got out that he worked for The Washington Post, highlighting the dangers faced by Iraqi journalists who work for US news outlets. "In Iraq you don't tell people you work for the United States because your life then could be in danger," Nouri said. Finer told of how Nouri acted more than just an interpreter, helping him avoid death in many circumstances. "No journalism would come out of Iraqi if it weren't for the Iraqi staff," he said. "Their importance is only gonna grow. We're gonna be more reliant on people like Nasser."
The numbers here, really are outrageous. We've taken a total of 5,537 refugees out of 4 million from a war that a war we started. Syria alone is now home to more than a million. With a population of 16 million, that's a 6% increase. The equivalent number in the US would be 18 million. Can you imagine the political turmoil that ensue here if 18 million foreign refugees were to flood into the country over a period of just a few years?
Thu Jul 24, 2:56 PM ET
The Nation -- Conservatives had a tendency to attribute the all of the reduction of violence in Iraq to the increase in US troops. But one of the most overlooked stories of Iraq is the massive outflow of refugees, 4 million by the latest estimates. Basically Iraq has gone through its own Big Sort, whereby Sunni and Shia simply don't live near each other, hence a diminishing amount of sectarian violence. Bobby Allyn attended a hearing on Iraq's refugees and sent this missive:
The Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs held a hearing on the Iraq Refugee Crisis yesterday. Jonathan Finer, Washington Post correspondent, testified with former Washington Post interpreter Nasser Nouri about the plight of over two million Iraqi refugees who are struggling for permanent resettlement.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, over 4.7 million Iraqis have been displaced since the 2003 US invasion, with more than two million living in Syria and Jordan. The US has committed to accept 12,000 refugees by September. So far the US has only accepted 6,463, allowing three months for another 5,537. "The question isn't will the US meet the 12,000 mark; it's why only 12,000?" said Finer. "We took in several hundred thousand Southeast Asians after the Vietnam war, more than a hundred thousand Bosnians in the mid '90s, 12,000 doesn't seem like a very ambitious target."
Nasser Nouri told the harrowing story of how Al Qeada tried to capture his youngest daughter after word got out that he worked for The Washington Post, highlighting the dangers faced by Iraqi journalists who work for US news outlets. "In Iraq you don't tell people you work for the United States because your life then could be in danger," Nouri said. Finer told of how Nouri acted more than just an interpreter, helping him avoid death in many circumstances. "No journalism would come out of Iraqi if it weren't for the Iraqi staff," he said. "Their importance is only gonna grow. We're gonna be more reliant on people like Nasser."
The numbers here, really are outrageous. We've taken a total of 5,537 refugees out of 4 million from a war that a war we started. Syria alone is now home to more than a million. With a population of 16 million, that's a 6% increase. The equivalent number in the US would be 18 million. Can you imagine the political turmoil that ensue here if 18 million foreign refugees were to flood into the country over a period of just a few years?
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
One-sixth of Iraq's residents displaced – UN
Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Tuesday , 08 /07 /2008 Time 9:55:01
BAGHDAD, July 8 (VOI) – One-sixth of Iraq's residents are displaced inside and outside of the country, UN secretary general's representative, David Shearer, said on Tuesday.
Shearer referred to the necessity of enacted a national policy to deal with this issue.The Iraqi Minister of Immigration and Emigration said that the national policy aims at finding a permanent solution for emigrants and displaced people's problems.
"Iraq has faced big problems and difficulties, represented by violence and forced displacement, which has resulted in the displacement of one-sixth of Iraq's residents both inside and outside the country," Shearer said in a speech he made during the first conference pertaining to the national policy to treat displacement that was held in Baghdad.
He praised the governmental activities to restore 10,000 displaced people to their residential areas, in addition to helping 5,000 physicians to return to Iraq, according to statistics released by the Iraqi Immigration Ministry.
"These numbers are simple, and cannot be heavily relied upon, but at the same time mirror evidence of tangible security improvements," he added.He stressed the necessity of learning the obstacles and difficulties that prevent displaced families from returning home, and to search for frequent sources of support to them in all fields.
"Only the Iraqi government can present a solution for displaced people's problems by allocating funds in the budget, in addition to allocating funds to solve Iraqi emigrants problem world-wide," he noted.
"Iraq needs combined efforts, and the UN is part of the solution," he asserted.
During the conference that was held in coordination with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and attended by Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI), Abdul-Samad Rahman Sultan, the Iraqi Immigration Minister, said "the conference aims at finding permanent solutions for displaced people's issue, and to provide an active, realistic, and comprehensive frame that responds to their demands."
"The displacement problem can be divided into two parts; before the toppling of the former regime, and after 2003 when the U.S. forces entered Iraq," he added."The former regime's wars with neighboring countries displaced around 1.2 million Iraqis over 40 years," he proceeded.
"The displacement's second stage took place after 2003, due to the invasion," he explained."The explosion at the al-Askariya shrine in Samara on February 22, 2006, displaced around 240,000 families of different Iraqi components inside Iraq," he noted.
Sultan stressed that his ministry, in coordination with other ministries, worked on obtaining a national policy to deal with displacement, which requires coordinated work of the ministries, governmental institutions, and non-governmental organizations.
He did not mention when this policy was obtained.
Tuesday , 08 /07 /2008 Time 9:55:01
BAGHDAD, July 8 (VOI) – One-sixth of Iraq's residents are displaced inside and outside of the country, UN secretary general's representative, David Shearer, said on Tuesday.
Shearer referred to the necessity of enacted a national policy to deal with this issue.The Iraqi Minister of Immigration and Emigration said that the national policy aims at finding a permanent solution for emigrants and displaced people's problems.
"Iraq has faced big problems and difficulties, represented by violence and forced displacement, which has resulted in the displacement of one-sixth of Iraq's residents both inside and outside the country," Shearer said in a speech he made during the first conference pertaining to the national policy to treat displacement that was held in Baghdad.
He praised the governmental activities to restore 10,000 displaced people to their residential areas, in addition to helping 5,000 physicians to return to Iraq, according to statistics released by the Iraqi Immigration Ministry.
"These numbers are simple, and cannot be heavily relied upon, but at the same time mirror evidence of tangible security improvements," he added.He stressed the necessity of learning the obstacles and difficulties that prevent displaced families from returning home, and to search for frequent sources of support to them in all fields.
"Only the Iraqi government can present a solution for displaced people's problems by allocating funds in the budget, in addition to allocating funds to solve Iraqi emigrants problem world-wide," he noted.
"Iraq needs combined efforts, and the UN is part of the solution," he asserted.
During the conference that was held in coordination with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and attended by Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI), Abdul-Samad Rahman Sultan, the Iraqi Immigration Minister, said "the conference aims at finding permanent solutions for displaced people's issue, and to provide an active, realistic, and comprehensive frame that responds to their demands."
"The displacement problem can be divided into two parts; before the toppling of the former regime, and after 2003 when the U.S. forces entered Iraq," he added."The former regime's wars with neighboring countries displaced around 1.2 million Iraqis over 40 years," he proceeded.
"The displacement's second stage took place after 2003, due to the invasion," he explained."The explosion at the al-Askariya shrine in Samara on February 22, 2006, displaced around 240,000 families of different Iraqi components inside Iraq," he noted.
Sultan stressed that his ministry, in coordination with other ministries, worked on obtaining a national policy to deal with displacement, which requires coordinated work of the ministries, governmental institutions, and non-governmental organizations.
He did not mention when this policy was obtained.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Refugees Fight Forced Return To Iraq War Zones
UN dismay as tribunal allows British expulsions
Jamie Doward, home affairs editor
The Observer,
Sunday April 13 2008
This article appeared in the Observer on Sunday April 13 2008 on p4 of the News section. It was last updated at 00:07 on April 13 2008.
The United Nations last night accused the government of holding a 'sword of Damocles' over the heads of Iraqi refugees in Britain after it emerged that the Home Office had won a landmark test case giving it the power to return refugees to war-torn parts of their home country, including Basra and Baghdad.
The ruling, which is being studied closely by other European countries, has alarmed refugee support groups, who say it means asylum seekers from war zones could be returned to other dangerous countries, such as Somalia.
The Refugee Legal Centre has launched an urgent appeal against the ruling by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, which it says paves the way for the removal of the majority of Iraqi asylum seekers in the UK.
'If we didn't appeal the tribunal's decision, the government would have a free hand to forcibly remove hundreds of Iraqi civilians to Baghdad,' said Caroline Slocock, chief executive of the legal centre.
The test case, the culmination of a series of legal challenges that started last year, hinged on a European Council directive guaranteeing refugees the right to protection in the UK if their return to their native country meant a 'serious threat to their life' because of 'international or internal armed conflict'.
The UK has been returning Iraqis to the north of their country for some time. But the test case is considered pivotal in legal circles in defining what protection should be given to refugees fleeing war zones. Neither the Refugee Convention nor the European Convention on Human Rights guarantees refugees from war zones the right to remain in the UK, whereas the council directive was considered to offer them a much higher level of protection.
But following the tribunal's decision, the government now has the power to remove anyone to any part of Iraq. 'We are pleased that the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal has agreed with our view and found that conditions in Iraq are such that an ordinary individual Iraqi civilian is not at serious risk from indiscriminate violence,' a spokesman for the Home Office said.
'We will continue to consider every asylum and human rights claim on its individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. We will ensure that we continue to monitor the situation in Iraq carefully so that our asylum and human rights decisions continue to reflect the latest available information.'
The government argued at the tribunal that there was no 'internal armed conflict' in Iraq as defined by the directive. And Home Office lawyers successfully argued the general risks to the refugee in the test case - a man known as KH - were not sufficient for him to be granted protection.
The tribunal ruling has wide implications for Iraqi asylum seekers. It stated: 'Neither civilians in Iraq generally, nor civilians even in provinces and cities worst affected by the armed conflict, can show they face a "serious and individual threat" to their "life or person"... merely by virtue of being civilians.'
The ruling has prompted a strong reaction from the UN, which has urged the government not to start sending people back to the most dangerous parts of Iraq. 'We strongly advise against the return of anyone to central or southern Iraq,' said Jacqueline Parlevliet, deputy representative with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 'As things now stand a sword of Damocles hangs over the head of every Iraqi in the UK. The way this ruling has been phrased means their protection needs are no longer recognised by the Home Office.'
The government's decision to argue for its right to return Iraqis has highlighted its increasingly tough line on asylum issues. Before 2003 the government recognised that people fleeing war zones could be granted a limited period of leave to remain in the UK until the situation improved.
But the Home Office scrapped the policy in 2004 amid concerns it acted as a 'pull factor' which encouraged asylum claims. Although the government recently started accepting Iraqis' asylum claims if they had worked for the British military, it is reluctant to allow other Iraqis to remain.
The European Council for Refugees and Exiles has found 13 per cent of Iraqis' asylum claims were approved in the first instance in the UK last year compared with 82 per cent in Sweden and 85 per cent in Germany. Last year just over 500 Iraqis were allowed to remain in the UK. 'Despite its active role in the region, the UK has given very little support to Iraqis,' Slocock said.
More than two million people have fled Iraq since 2003.
Jamie Doward, home affairs editor
The Observer,
Sunday April 13 2008
This article appeared in the Observer on Sunday April 13 2008 on p4 of the News section. It was last updated at 00:07 on April 13 2008.
The United Nations last night accused the government of holding a 'sword of Damocles' over the heads of Iraqi refugees in Britain after it emerged that the Home Office had won a landmark test case giving it the power to return refugees to war-torn parts of their home country, including Basra and Baghdad.
The ruling, which is being studied closely by other European countries, has alarmed refugee support groups, who say it means asylum seekers from war zones could be returned to other dangerous countries, such as Somalia.
The Refugee Legal Centre has launched an urgent appeal against the ruling by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, which it says paves the way for the removal of the majority of Iraqi asylum seekers in the UK.
'If we didn't appeal the tribunal's decision, the government would have a free hand to forcibly remove hundreds of Iraqi civilians to Baghdad,' said Caroline Slocock, chief executive of the legal centre.
The test case, the culmination of a series of legal challenges that started last year, hinged on a European Council directive guaranteeing refugees the right to protection in the UK if their return to their native country meant a 'serious threat to their life' because of 'international or internal armed conflict'.
The UK has been returning Iraqis to the north of their country for some time. But the test case is considered pivotal in legal circles in defining what protection should be given to refugees fleeing war zones. Neither the Refugee Convention nor the European Convention on Human Rights guarantees refugees from war zones the right to remain in the UK, whereas the council directive was considered to offer them a much higher level of protection.
But following the tribunal's decision, the government now has the power to remove anyone to any part of Iraq. 'We are pleased that the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal has agreed with our view and found that conditions in Iraq are such that an ordinary individual Iraqi civilian is not at serious risk from indiscriminate violence,' a spokesman for the Home Office said.
'We will continue to consider every asylum and human rights claim on its individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. We will ensure that we continue to monitor the situation in Iraq carefully so that our asylum and human rights decisions continue to reflect the latest available information.'
The government argued at the tribunal that there was no 'internal armed conflict' in Iraq as defined by the directive. And Home Office lawyers successfully argued the general risks to the refugee in the test case - a man known as KH - were not sufficient for him to be granted protection.
The tribunal ruling has wide implications for Iraqi asylum seekers. It stated: 'Neither civilians in Iraq generally, nor civilians even in provinces and cities worst affected by the armed conflict, can show they face a "serious and individual threat" to their "life or person"... merely by virtue of being civilians.'
The ruling has prompted a strong reaction from the UN, which has urged the government not to start sending people back to the most dangerous parts of Iraq. 'We strongly advise against the return of anyone to central or southern Iraq,' said Jacqueline Parlevliet, deputy representative with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 'As things now stand a sword of Damocles hangs over the head of every Iraqi in the UK. The way this ruling has been phrased means their protection needs are no longer recognised by the Home Office.'
The government's decision to argue for its right to return Iraqis has highlighted its increasingly tough line on asylum issues. Before 2003 the government recognised that people fleeing war zones could be granted a limited period of leave to remain in the UK until the situation improved.
But the Home Office scrapped the policy in 2004 amid concerns it acted as a 'pull factor' which encouraged asylum claims. Although the government recently started accepting Iraqis' asylum claims if they had worked for the British military, it is reluctant to allow other Iraqis to remain.
The European Council for Refugees and Exiles has found 13 per cent of Iraqis' asylum claims were approved in the first instance in the UK last year compared with 82 per cent in Sweden and 85 per cent in Germany. Last year just over 500 Iraqis were allowed to remain in the UK. 'Despite its active role in the region, the UK has given very little support to Iraqis,' Slocock said.
More than two million people have fled Iraq since 2003.
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